Ken Winter
A Covenant Renewed

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Does it seem like God is directing you to do something at a time which you believe is most inopportune? Has that still, small voice (the Holy Spirit within you) directed you to do something now that is contrary to what your conventional wisdom is telling you to do?

For thirty-eight of the forty years the Israelites spent in the wilderness, no Israelite male was circumcised.And yet, 470 years earlier, God had entered into a covenant with Abraham and his descendants saying, “I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan …  to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God…. Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised.”(1) God had given a promise to that first generation of Israelites and had entered into a covenant with them. Their part of the covenant was to obey the terms and seal it through the circumcision of every Israelite male.

A Covenant Renewed
Ken Winter
On To Our Paran

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After having camped at Mount Sinai for almost a year, the cloud lifted and the Israelites set out on their three-day journey to the wilderness of Paran.(1) (You may recall that the wilderness of Paran is where Hagar and Ishmael found refuge when Sarah had Abraham send them away.(2)) The wilderness of Paran was bounded to the north by southern Canaan, otherwise known as the Promised Land. They were in the fourteenth month of their exodus from Egypt and they were now closing in on the prize that was before them – the Promised Land!

On To Our Paran
Ken Winter
Bread That Is Sufficient

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The day God provided a ram to be sacrificed in the place of his son Isaac, Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh, meaning “The Lord will provide.”(1) That day was to be a reminder to all generations that the Lord will provide. He will be faithful to provide just what is needed at the exact time it is needed. He is seldom early; but He is never late! He seldom provides in the manner we anticipate; but He always provides in a way that is sufficient. That was true for Abraham and Isaac, it was true for Moses and the Israelites, and it is true for us today.

God promised Moses and the Israelites that each morning He would provide bread that would be sufficient for every person for the day – everyone would have their fill.(2) After the people had gotten over the shock that this “white, flaky stuff” was God’s bread for them, they set about the process of gathering what was needed for their household. God’s provision, though “packaged” in a very unexpected way, came with very specific instructions.

Bread That Is Sufficient
Ken Winter
Chosen to Serve

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There is no such thing as a perfect church. That statement does not come as a shock to any of us, whether we are a part of a church … or not. However, i do believe that those of us inside the church often tend to want everyone to believe we have it all together. We have a tendency to hide the “real me” behind a mask and cover up the things, the hurts, the doubts, and the imperfections that we don’t want anyone else to see. (It’s similar to the way most of us – believers and non-believers alike – tend to portray ourselves on social media.)

i also believe that those outside the church often project that false impression – that we think we’re perfect – upon the church, and enjoy highlighting the downfall of those within the church when they fall.

No, the church isn’t perfect, but then again, it never has been! But we endeavor to worship, follow, and follow the example of the only One who is and ever was perfect.

Chosen to Serve
Ken Winter
Perilous Times

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We live in a day filled with upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. It therefore comes as no surprise that the rates of depression, anxiety, and fearfulness about the future continue to reach new highs  among adults in the U. S. according to a Gallup poll published in May 2023.(1) But as followers of Christ, we can take heart that the perilous times in which we find ourselves are also indicative of the days to come that Jesus described two thousand years ago. We can embrace the hope we have through the promises and assurance He gave to His disciples—and through them, to us.

Jesus was sitting on the slopes of the Mount of Olives with His disciples telling them about the perilous times that would signal the end of the age and His return.(2) The disciples, in turn, asked Him three questions:

1.    When will all this happen?

2.    What sign will signal Your return?

3.    What sign will signal the end of the world?

Perilous Times

Walking With The Master

His Face Was Set

His Face Was Set

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The New King James translation of Luke 9:51 says “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Jesus to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9 was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him. No matter what was on His “to do list,” His face was always set, His eye was always focused, and His stride never wavered from His ultimate purpose.

Sometimes, as we remember the events of Holy Week, we can fall into a trap of thinking that Jesus’s crucifixion was the result of Judas’s betrayal, the Sanhedrin’s envy and hatred, Pilate’s spinelessness, and the soldiers’ cruelty. We can be lulled into thinking His death was involuntary. And salvation was the result of God taking something that the enemy meant for evil and using it for His glory and our good.

Then the Devil Came

Then the Devil Came

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At the Jordan River, Jesus identified with us through His baptism; in the Judaean wilderness, He identified with us through His temptation. Do not miss this – the Father ordered His steps into the wilderness, just as He had ordered His steps into the Jordan, so that He might there be tempted, tested and proven. Not proven to the Father; the Father knew that He could not fail. Jesus was led into the wilderness to prove to us that He could not fail.

Another important distinction we must understand before we look at the events that unfolded in the wilderness is that Jesus was not tempted as the Son of God; He did not use His divine power to overcome the temptation. If He had, there would be nothing for us to learn. Remember, He came to teach us how to live, to enable us to live, and to empower us to live. You and I will never have divine power; we’re not God! We have access to divine power, but we do not ourselves possess it. Therefore, if Jesus had responded to Satan as the Son of God, He would not have taught us how to respond to temptation. Rather, He responded – and was proven – as the Son of Man using the same spiritual resources that are available to us in our journey today – the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Word of God.

The Time Has Come

The Time Has Come

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As 2024 approaches and begins, many of us are taking time to revisit our priorities for the new year. It is often a time when we make new resolutions and new – or renewed – commitments. It can also be a time when we decide to take action on those things we’ve been putting off.

For the past several weeks, we have all been celebrating the advent of the Baby in the manger. But today, let’s fast forward about twenty-nine years. At some point during the intervening years, Joseph died. Jesus assumed the role of the oldest son and carried forward the family carpentry trade, while caring for His mother and his younger half-siblings. However, the time had now come according to His Heavenly Father’s timetable for Him to step out from obscurity . . . and Jesus would not delay.

The Lost Son

The Lost Son

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Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.(1) The Pharisees and their scribes continually criticized Jesus because He was associating with “such sinful people” — even eating with them! The religious leaders were functioning under the false belief that there is a hierarchy of sin – dividing “acceptable” sins from those that proper Jewish society would have deemed to be “unacceptable”. They would have identified “notorious sinners” as people who led conspicuously immoral lives and/or engaged in highly questionable occupations.

But it also would have included people with certain diseases or disabilities that were perceived to be a sign of some great sin. This group would have been physically and morally unapproachable by these religious leaders. Tax collectors were generally hated and despised by their fellow countrymen. Therefore they would have also been considered to be a part of this larger group. No “respectable” Jew would have had anything to do with this collection of “notorious sinners”.  The Pharisees viewed this group as being “beyond saving” and viewed themselves as not being in need of saving. Sadly, the Pharisees never saw themselves as being among the lost.

Sermon of Sermons

Sermon of Sermons

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Over the years, God has used many preachers to teach me His Word. Some were at a distance, like John Piper, Warren Wiersbe, Chuck Swindoll, John MacArthur, and Tim Keller. Some have been close and personal, like Henry Blackaby, Keith Thomas, Mark Becton and David Platt. Some have spoken through the ages, like Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, D. L. Moody and A. W. Tozer. Others date back to the New Testament, like Paul, John, Peter and James, as well as the Old Testament prophets like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah. But as greatly as the Father has used each and every one of these men – and so many more – to be heralds and teachers of His Word, all of them pale in comparison with Jesus.

One day He gathered the multitude that had come out into the countryside to hear Him, and He began to teach… the greatest sermon that ever was – the sermon of all sermons. Jesus taught….

Can i Trust Him?

Can i Trust Him?

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If you were to ask me to name some of my favorite books – other than the Bible – My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers would be at the top of my list. God has used that book more times than i can count to reinforce His truth in my life over the years.

Such was the case this morning. Chambers asks the question, “Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him?” What am i to do when everything around me points to doing one thing, but i know God has told me to do another? OR, what am i to do if i find myself in the midst of a hopeless situation, but Jesus has told me to trust Him?

More Than Enough

More Than Enough

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Are you currently facing a need that is insurmountable, or a challenge that is impossible? Is the situation beyond your capability or the solution beyond your reach? If so, are you trying to solve it, or overcome it, or meet it on your own? Or have you turned to the One who has promised to never leave you nor forsake you and asked Him to do what only He can?

The disciples had just returned from their mission, having been sent out two-by-two into the villages. They were excited to tell Jesus everything they had done and experienced.(1) If you have ever been a part of a short-term mission team that has been sent out to carry the Good News to another part of the nation or the world, you can probably relate somewhat to the disciples. Like them, you probably saw the transforming work of the gospel and the leadership of the Spirit….

Take It From The Fish

Take It From The Fish

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Have you ever noticed that God works in ways that we rarely expect? It’s His way of reminding us that His ways are not our ways … and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Are you walking through a circumstance in your life today where you are trusting God for an answer? Perhaps you are expecting Him to answer in a certain way … or perhaps you have no idea. Regardless, trust Him to answer in His perfect way … no matter how unexpected it might be. Just ask the fish!

It is not surprising that Matthew, the tax collector, is the only Gospel writer that records this conversation and miracle.

Only One Gave Thanks

Only One Gave Thanks

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This week in the U.S., we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It’s the one day set apart on our calendars to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given to us. But as we busily prepare for a good meal, and/or time together with friends and/or family, are we truly stopping to give thanks? Have we become so distracted by all that is going on around us, and so consumed with what is taking place in our lives, that we now fail to turn to the One to whom all thanksgiving is due?

Allow me to hastily acknowledge that our thanksgiving to God should never be limited to one day on our calendar, it should be a daily acknowledgement of Him and to Him. But is it? Do we truly stop to give Him thanks? i wonder if i have stopped short of being thankful. i’m grateful for what i have – family, friends, health, strength, possessions and provision (no matter how much or little it might be), and so forth. But am i truly thankful to the One who has provided it all? Or, have i settled for being grateful instead of being thankful?

Fishers of Men

Fishers of Men

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Jesus never told Simon and Andrew where they would be going as they followed Him. It was never about the place to where He was leading. He simply told them He would make them “fishers of men”. Their response required total surrender. And to their credit, they didn’t hesitate. They immediately followed Him! Their lives were never the same after that … and neither will ours.

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